50 www.aeroplanemonthly.com AEROPLANE JULY 2015

its array of nose-mounted cannonand under-wing rockets, was adevastating shock to the crews ofAllied twin-engined tactical bomberswhich operated at a lower altitude andfrequently without escort.Another well-known chapter in the

German jet fighters history was theinsistence of Adolf Hitler that it beadapted for deployment as a bomber,a role it performed adequately, albeitin numbers that meant it was unableto achieve more than pinprick results.But perhaps less well-documented isthe fact that the Me 262 was flexibleenough to also offer the Luftwaffe ahigh-speed reconnaissance aircraft.Indeed, as early as September 1941the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM,

or Reich Air Ministry) had beenattracted by the notion of a jet-poweredreconnaissance aircraft, or Aufklrer,and the ambitious Willy Messerschmittreadily supplied a preliminary proposalfor an un-armed version of theMe 262 which would carry twoRb (Reihenbilder) 50/30 (50cm lens)cameras. These had been designedoriginally for commercial mapping andwere intended for use in peacetime instraight-and-level flight. In February1942, having examined a woodenmock-up of this configuration, theRLM suggested instead the installationof Rb 75/30 (75cm lens) cameras.Messerschmitt continued to work on

a reconnaissance variant of his plannedjet aircraft, and in the summer of 1943

rom the autumn of 1944,in the MesserschmittMe 262 the Luftwaffehad the aircraft it needed

to engage and destroy Allied heavybombers effectively and with minimumrisk. Arguably, Willy Messerschmittsradical new design introduced a newera in air warfare. Through a formidableand unprecedented combination ofspeed and armament, the aircraft thatwould go down in history as the worldsfirst jet interceptor proved more thana match for the pilots of the Alliedpiston-engined fighters whose task itwas to escort the massed formationsof B-17s, B-24s and Lancasters duringtheir forays into the Reich. Equally,the appearance of the Me 262, with

F

As the war neared its end, the versatile MesserschmittMe 262 turned its hand to photo-reconnaissance, and

brought back valuable results

RECCE AT THERECCE AT THEELEVENTH HOURELEVENTH HOUR

WORDS: ROBERT FORSYTH

GermanJETS RECONNAISSANCE Me 262s

he issued threenew design proposalsknown as the AufklrerI, Ia and II. In the

Aufklrer I, the plannednose armament of the interceptor

was replaced with a 500-litre fuel tankto offer extended range, behind whichwould be one Rb 75/30 and oneRb 20/30, their lenses covered byglazed panels. Alternatively, a pair ofangled Rb 75/30 cameras could befitted, with a 750-litre tank built intothe central fuselage section.The armed Aufklrer Ia saw cockpit

and radio equipment moved forwardto the nose and a fuel capacity of 3,000litres. Camera provision was to havecome in the form of two Rb 75/30s inthe rear fuselage, and armament fromtwo 30mm MK 108 cannon in thenose. Finally, the Aufklrer II featureda bulbous fuselage carrying 5,200 litresof fuel. Because of its greater fuel load

and its nose-mounted Rb 20/30 andtwin Rb 75/30s, this variant carriedno weapons. There was a plan toaccommodate a second crew member,but this idea was ultimately withdrawn.Eventually, it was decided to return

to Messerschmitts original 1942mock-up, using it as a basis fromwhich to develop the Me 262A-5areconnaissance jet. Until such timeas the Me 262 had been tested andproved as a combat aircraft, however,the reconnaissance role would beperformed by an interim variant aBehelfsaufklrer, the Me 262A-1a/U3, a modification of the standardfighter. This design would feature twoRb 50/30 cameras in the nose, angledoutwards at 11 degrees, controlled byan intervalometer with an attacheddrive motor. Because the cameraswere too large to fit cleanly within thenose compartment, small horizontaltear-drop fairings were fitted to both

left and right gun access panels to coverthe protruding areas, and the usual gunports found on the A-1a were fairedover. Two small square glazed panelswere provided for the camera lenses,beneath the fuselage on either side of

ABOVE:Messerschmitt Me 262A-1a/U3Werknummer 170111Kommando Braunegg

OSPREY PUBLISHING LTD

BELOW: A semi-tracked Kettenkrad towsMe 262A-1a White 3 ofIII./EJG 2 back to its revetment following a reconnaissance missionfrom Lechfeld in the spring of 1945. The aircraft was subsequently

own by Oblt Keck and Uffz Huxold of 1./NAG 6 on reconnaissancesover theWestern Front. VIA ROBERT FORSYTH

BELOW: An NCOpasses the port-sideRb 50/30 camera toa ground crewmanat Lechfeld.VIA ROBERT FORSYTH

ABOVE: TheRb 50/30 cameras

are unloadedfrom the nosecompartmentof Me 262A-1aWhite 3 of III./

EJG 2 at Lechfeld.The cameras werehoused where the

30mmMK 108cannon would

have been installedin the standard

interceptor version.This aircraft was

used to y jetreconnaissance

trials before beingattached to NAG 6.

VIA ROBERT FORSYTH

ABOVE RIGHT:Oberleutnant

Herward Brauneggwas awarded theKnights Cross inMarch 1944 for

his service on theEastern Front where

he operated overStalingrad. He waslater appointed tolead KommandoBraunegg, lateralso known asKommando

Panther, to evaluatereconnaissance

missions using theMe 262.

VIA ROBERT FORSYTH

the nosewheel well. The aircraft had asingle MK 108 cannon mounted in theextreme nose, its muzzle protrudinglevel with the tip.Oberleutnant Herward Braunegg

was ordered in early June 1944 to setup an experimental jet reconnaissanceunit, which was established at Lechfeldas the Kommando Braunegg. Austrianby birth and an experienced pilot,Braunegg had joined the Luftwaffe inMarch 1938. Until June 1942 he servedwith a number of reconnaissance unitsin the West and Russia before joiningthe staff of the IV. Fliegerkorps, withwhich he was involved with operationsover Stalingrad and the Donets Basin.He was awarded the Knights Cross inMarch 1944 and would finish the warhaving flown 353 operational missions.Kommando Braunegg formed

up with just four pilots and oneaircraft. The units solitary jet wasa Me 262A-1a/U3 into which twoRb 50/30s had been installed. This wasthe first Me 262 believed to have beenso converted, and on 26 July Brauneggmade the initial dedicated trial photomission. Assessment flights continuedover the coming weeks. The plan wasfor Kommando Braunegg to test thelimited numbers of reconnaissanceMe 262s then available. However, itwould not be until 26 August that thefirst was reported operationally ready,and indeed, for the rest of its existence,the Kommando would operate amixture of standard Me 262A-1as and asmall number of A-1a/U3s.The unit suffered a major loss on 25

October 1944 when its original jet,piloted by Friedrich Stannek, crashedsouth-east of Lissa in the province ofPosen while on a ferry flight. Stannekwas killed.By 6 November, Kommando

Braunegg had three Me 262s on

strength. That day Braunegg and twoother pilots, together with a mobilephotographic development facilityand some groundcrew taken over fromthe conventional reconnaissance unit,Nahaufklrungsgruppe (NAG, or Short-Range Reconnaissance Group) 9, movedfrom Lechfeld to Rheine. At the sametime, NAG 6, elements of which hadpreviously seen service on the EasternFront, was ordered to re-form as a short-range jet reconnaissance Gruppe.The Kommando received its new

designation of Kommando Panther atthe end of November. It was operatingwith six Me 262s, of which three wereserviceable, together with four pilots.The following month Braunegg set up abattle HQ in the Hohenloher forest atLangenburg, north-east of SchwbischHall. Photographic development,motor transport and technicians wereplaced under Oberleutnant Schlter,while a signals detachment wasestablished under Leutnant Mattick.Kommando Panther was to fly photoand visual reconnaissance missionsin co-operation with HeeresgruppeOberrhein (Army Group Upper Rhine)over the Western Front.

Seven Me 262s now on the unitsstrength had been fitted with camerasat Schwbisch Hall, while a further 10were being so equipped at Lechfeld.The unit would also play an importantpart in preparations for the comingGerman counter-offensive in theArdennes. Its aircraft were able toroam virtually at will over Alliedlines, gathering vital photographiccoverage of enemy troop dispositionsand the crossings over the Meuse.On 15 December, the Kommandoreported a strength of 11 pilots and

six Me 262A-1a/U3s. Despite this,it was rare for more than four to beoperational at one time.Missions commenced in mid-

December, when the jets flewreconnaissance sorties over Alliedlines and in the Trier-Saarbrcken-Lauterburg area, the Mhlhausen-Basel-Delle-Weissenburg-Lautenburg-Bitsch (Bitche) locality, and aroundSaarlautern.By the end of the year, it had been

proposed to further equip NAG 1 withthe Me 262 under Hauptmann Karl-Heinz Wilke, and in another move theRLM had cancelled the proposed high-performance/high-altitude Bf 109H-2/R2 reconnaissance-fighter in favour ofthe Me 262A-1a/U3. Although a low-key start to Luftwaffe reconnaissanceoperations with the jet, the value ofthese small units would be very muchrealised in the coming months whenthe intelligence that they provided tothe German military high commandand its commanders in the field wasrated extremely highly.As the new year progressed, NAG

1 reported a strength of just twopilots and no aircraft by 19 January.The Stab, 1. and 2. Staffeln were atHerzogenaurach; after a few days theStab had a solitary Me 262 and fourBf 110s, but the two Staffeln remainedwith neither aircraft nor pilots.Around 10 pilots eventually

assembled at Herzogenaurach forfamiliarisation on the jet. They were senton a high-altitude adjustment course ata remote ski hut on the Zugspitze. Thiswas followed by a week of theoreticalinstruction on the constructionand functioning of jet engines atSchwabstadtl. Finally, at the beginningof February, practical instructioncommenced at Lechfeld. This wouldlast six weeks and included take-offs,circuits, high-altitude flights, ferryflights, formation flying, blind-flyingand RATO starts. By 17 January, Stab/NAG 1 reported two jets on strength.Kommando Panther meanwhile

flew reconnaissance missions over the

GermanJETS

52 www.aeroplanemonthly.com AEROPLANE JULY 2015

RECONNAISSANCE Me 262s

LEFT: An RAFaircraftsmantightens or loosensthe mounting frameon a capturedRb 50/30 cameraof the type ttedto theMe 262. Itcarried a 50cm lenswith an iris inter-lens shutter. Themagazine held 64mof lm, and whenloaded the wholecamera weighed72kg.VIA ROBERT FORSYTH

FAR LEFT:Membersof NAG 6 gatherfor a photographoutside theircommunicationsdug-out, possibly atEssen-Mlheim inthe spring of 1945.VIA ROBERT FORSYTH

Hagenau-Straburg (Strasbourg) areaduring mid-January. On the 20th, itwas incorporated into 2./NAG 6, withBraunegg taking over command. MajFriedrich Heinz Schultze, from thestaff of the General der Aufklrer, tookoverall command of the Gruppe whileOberleutnant Georg Keck becamecommander of 1./NAG 6. Schultzeheld a keen interest in the possibilitiesoffered by high-speed, jet-poweredreconnaissance aircraft and in thisregard had studied the performance ofthe Arado Ar 234.NAG 6 took delivery of three

Me 262s towards the end of January,along with three new pilots. One ofthem, Leutnant Herbert Schubert, wasquickly sent into the air, accompaniedby Oberleutnant Walter Engelhart,to fly a reconnaissance mission overthe Vosges on 1 February. At 4,000m(13,100ft) the pilots were surprised bythe sight of a V2 rocket as it suddenlyshot up through the sky, just some500m (1,650ft) away from their jets!In early February the Allies prepared

to drive on the Rhine. To the north,the forces of Bradley and Montgomerywould mount a series of assaults on thegreat river and attempt exploitation ofthe German defences. The commanderof the US 82nd Airborne Divisionnoted in his diary on 3 February: TheGermans appear to be beaten andbeaten badlyNAG 6 was ordered to transfer

to Mnster-Handorf and Essen-Mlheim for operations directly overthe front lines. On 8 February, threeMe 262s from 2./NAG 6 flew photo-reconnaissance sorties in the Roermondarea, where the British SecondArmy was engaged against forces ofHeeresgruppe H, as well as to the westof the Scheldt, but all were unsuccessfulowing to the bad weather. Anothertwo Me 262s from NAG 6 flew roadreconnaissance in the Straburg-Schlettstadt (Slestat)-Colmar sector,but, again, this was only partiallysuccessful due to the poor conditions.

2./NAG 6 dispatched two Me 262s ona photo-reconnaissance in the Zabern-Strasbourg area on 10 February whileKG 51, the Me 262-equipped bomberunit, also sent one of its jets on asimilar mission over the same locality.An advance detachment of 1./NAG 6

arrived at Essen-Mlheim on the 14th.Two jets from the unit flew photo-reconnaissance, one in the Drusenheim-Hagenau-Saarunion (Sarre-Union)-Saarburg-Wassenheim area, the

other around Hagenau-Bischweiler(Bischwiller)-Brumath-Strasbourg-Erstein and west of the Rhine atPlosheim. Unteroffizier Heinz Huxoldconducted a reconnaissance missionover Dresden, recording nothing butthe destruction of a once beautiful city.He did, however, have the satisfactionof claiming a P-51 shot down.

Operations intensified over the nextfew days, with reconnaissance missionsmounted over the Rhine and aroundZabern (Saverne) and Straburg,while road patrols were flownover the Zabern-St Avold-Ingweilerarea. A Me 262 from NAG 6 flew aphoto-reconnaissance sortie in theStraburg-Habern-Ingweiler-Hagenau-Drusenheim area on the 16th, whileanother covered Drusenheim-Hagenau-Saarunion-Salzbergen-Zabern-Straburg on the 17th, but was forcedto break off due to bad weather.1./NAG 6 reported the loss of

a reconnaissance aircraft on 20February, described in a report asa Me 262A-4 the proposedproduction reconnaissance version.Then, on the 21st, Oberleutnant Knoll,

Staffelkapitn of 1./NAG 1 which wasconverting to the Me 262, was killedwhen his A-1a/U3 crashed south-westof Landsberg am Lech. He had beenon a familiarisation ferry flight when,south-east of Landsberg, he noticed apair of P-51s. Using his advantage ofspeed, he climbed to the same height asthe American fighters and manoeuvredin behind them. Just before he got intoa position to open fire, the Mustangsbroke left and right and quickly

turned behind him. They shot the jetdown. Following the death of Knoll,Hauptmann Dnkel was appointed asthe new commander of 1./NAG 1.Three days later, a lone Me 262 from

NAG 6 flew an armed reconnaissancein the Drusenheim-Hagenau-Ingweiler-Brumath area while anotherphotographed the Rhine from Baselto Gambsheim. On the 26th, NAG 1received orders to transfer fromHerzogenaurach to Hennef near Bonn,while 2./NAG 6 was to re-locate toMnster-Handorf. A Me 262 fromNAG 6 flew a photo-reconnaissanceof roads in the Bischweiler-Ingweiler-Zabern-Straburg region on the 28th.A group of 10 pilots was sent during

February to Lechfeld for reconnaissancetraining, but they did not undertakethe high-altitude training on theZugspitze and the theoreticalinstruction at Schwabstadtl from whichthe first cadre had benefitted. By theend of the month, though, all pilotsof NAG 6 had been trained on theMe 262. Around 16-18 pilots werereported as being on strength, with fouraircraft in the Stab and 16 in 1. Staffel.The draconian aircraft productionmeasures put in place by Hitlerspersonal plenipotentiaries at thistime had helped to increase deliveriesin February, with 13 Me 262s beingconverted to reconnaissance aircraft.All these went to NAG 6.

The intelligence the reconnaissanceMe 262s provided to the German militaryhigh command was rated highly

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GermanJETS

BELOW:Me 262A-1a/U3Werknummer 170111 undergoes salvagefollowing an engine failure at either Schwbisch Hall or Lechfeld in early1945. The aircraft, which was being own by Oblt Braunegg at the time,is nished in a distinctive scribble pattern applied to several Me 262reconnaissance machines. Note the pilot at right, possibly Braunegg,clambering off the wing. VIA ROBERT FORSYTH

As the cold winter which heralded1945 receded into a weak spring acrossnorth-west Europe, American forcestook Mnchengladbach on 1 March,and at last reached the Rhine at Neussopposite Dsseldorf on the 3rd. Whileon a tour of the Western Front, WinstonChurchill visited the town of Jlichhe was standing on German soil.Ground echelons of 2./NAG 6

arrived at Mnster-Nord, but badweather prevented the units Me 262sfrom making the journey. However,two sorties were made: one jetflew a visual reconnaissance of theBischweiler-Zabern-Brumath area whileanother photographed roads aroundLa Wantzenau, Zabern and Erstein.Likewise, on the 3rd, Hauptmann DrGutzmer of the Stab of the Me 262bomber Geschwader, KG 51, flewan armed reconnaissance in theGrimlinghausen-Neuss-Bderich area,but this was considered only partiallysuccessful owing to bad weather.

Increasingly, KG 51 was undertakingsuch missions in a vital effort to obtainfront-line intelligence. One of theunits Me 262s carried out an armedreconnaissance over Bad Kreuznach,where the Allies had broken through,on 3 March. The aircraft also droppedtwo 250kg bombs on vehicle columns,but the effect was not observed.On 14 March, the Luftwaffes

General Commanding ReconnaissanceForces ordered 1./NAG 1 atHerzogenaurach to move to Rhein-Main, while by the 10th, most, if not allof Stab, 1. and 2./NAG 6 had re-locatedto Mnster-Handorf. The unit suffered

RECONNAISSANCE Me 262s

the loss of Oberleutnant Engelhartduring this transfer on the 18th, when,flying at a height of just 150m (500ft),his Me 262 rolled to port, went into theground and exploded.A Me 262 of NAG 6 was assigned

to carry out a photo-reconnaissancemission over the Nijmegen-Emmerich-Goch-Kleve area on the 19th, but thesortie was aborted owing to heavyground mist. However another suchmission was sent out over the westernbank of the Rhine from Xanten,south of Dsseldorf. An indication ofhow important these reconnaissanceoperations were considered by theGerman command can be seen by thefact that airfield cover for these missionswas provided by no fewer than 27Fw 190s.Indeed, overwhelming Allied air

superiority and attrition was nowmaking itself felt more than ever.On 21 March, with his jet trainingcomplete, Oberleutnant Erich Engels of1./NAG 6 took off from Lechfeld witha factory-fresh Me 262 on course forMnster-Handorf where he was to joinhis colleagues. The flight went withoutproblems, and Engels landed and taxiedhis jet into a revetment. He then shutdown the engines and climbed out.As he made his way towards dispersal,the air raid alarm sounded, and a fewminutes later Allied bombs raineddown on the airfield. Engels just hadtime to take cover. Some time later,after the bombers had departed, Engelswas dismayed to discover that his newMe 262 had been a victim of the raidand was beyond saving.A day or so later, he journeyed to

Rheine by car to collect a new Me 262fighter, which it was intended he woulduse for reconnaissance work. No soonerhad he been assigned the aircraft,however, than there was a request fromthe local army liaison unit for himto urgently conduct a reconnaissanceflight to check on enemy forces in theRemagen area. From there he was tofly to Parchim. His flight completed,he headed for Parchim, but found thefield to be badly damaged by bombs sohe made for Hopsten. But even thereconditions were bad, and he flew toVrden where he eventually joined hiscomrades.With the war situation worsening

daily, the odds were stacked heavilyagainst the Luftwaffes small Me 262reconnaissance force. By April it wascritical. On 1 April, Oberleutnant ErnstBratke of NAG 6 took off from Vrdenfor a reconnaissance operation aroundMnster. On his return flight, he hitbad weather, lost his orientation andbegan to run out of fuel near Brockum.He was killed in an emergency landing

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in the Dummer-See/Oldenburgarea. In the evening of the next dayOberfeldwebel Fritz Oldenstdt of 2./NAG 6 departed on a reconnaissanceof the Paderborn-Kassel locality, butshortly after leaving the ground alarge flame was seen trailing from hisMe 262s port engine. Oldenstdtassumed emergency procedures andmade a rough forced landing at Heeke,where the aircraft was a write-off.Despite changes of base, dwindling

fuel and overwhelming opposition,

the Me 262s continued doggedlyto fly missions throughout April.On the 10th, NAG 1 undertookreconnaissance of the Harz area tophotograph Allied armoured spearheadsand to cover up to 30km (18 miles) inthe enemys rear. Coverage was also tobe flown in the Gttingen-Northeimand Langensalza-Erfurt areas, as wellas over the roads around Marburg,Giessen and Friedberg.Reconnaissance sorties were to

continue regularly from then on,weather permitting. But it was a case oftoo little, too late. By the 8th, the Stab/NAG 6 at Lechfeld had no aircraft atall, while of Brauneggs seven jets in 2.Staffel only three were serviceable. Aweek later, NAG 1 lost two Me 262sduring its transfer to its new baseat Eger, including OberfeldwebelPeter Wilke of the Stab, whose rareMe 262A-4 was shot down over Cheb.These may have been victims of P-47s.As late as 1 May 1945, missions were

still being conducted. Leutnant Tetznerof 2./NAG 6 made his last flightfrom Kaltenkirchen over Hannover,Magdeburg, Schwerin and Lbeck toland at Schleswigland (Jagel). Over Bad

Oldesloe he had spotted two Britishfighters 200m to the side of him, butchose not to engage and flew off intothe cover of cloud.On the 4th, on orders from his

Kommandeur, Major Schultze,Oberfeldwebel Oldenstdt flew the lastreconnaissance mission from Hhnthat evening. The following morning,Schultze and Oldenstdt were instructedto fly to Norway in a two-seat Me 262,but its engines were faulty and so theywere unable to execute the order. British

tanks reached the airfield in the latemorning, and the German airmen setabout blowing up their aircraft.The true effectiveness of Me 262

reconnaissance operations is difficultto determine, but there are certain keyfacts. Firstly, in overall terms the jetswere able to continue their operationswith relative impunity, and secondly,in doing so, no doubt provided theGerman commands with vital andvaluable information hence theirmissions at the very eleventh hour.Finally, it would be some timebefore the Allies fielded acomparable aircraft.

ABOVE:Me 262A-1a/U3 White 2 of1./NAG 6 preparesto taxi out on areconnaissancesortie from Zerbstin early April 1945.Clearly visible is thebulged fairing onthe nose intended toaccommodate theport-side Rb 50/30camera.VIA ROBERT FORSYTH

FURTHER INFORMATIONThe author, with Eddie J. Creek, is co-author of the Osprey Publishingbook Me 262 Bomber and Reconnaissance Units, number 83 inOspreys Combat Aircraft series.

BELOW:MajFriedrich HeinzSchultze,commander ofNAG 6 from lateJanuary 1945. Aveteran of the NorthAfrican campaigns,his small unit ofMe 262s providedvital informationto the German highcommand on theWestern Front in thenal months of thewar. VIA ROBERT FORSYTH

It would be some time before the Allieselded a comparable aircraft